The Content

26 April 2008

Unconscionable!

Do all unions and their leadership lie and consider themselves apart from the society that provides for their very existence, or is this a phenomenon unique to the likes of the Amalgamated Transit Union (and in my experience, CUPE as well)? "We'll give 48 hours notice of strike action," was a refreshing and welcome, but sadly prevaricating pronouncement by Bob Kinnear and his mafia-like gang. Last night, with a scant one-hour notice, the TTC was shut down, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded on a Saturday night, in the midst of their late night weekend activities. How many people came out of movies, clubs, restaurants, workplaces at all hours of the late evening and early morning to find that their Metropass was about as useful as Toronto City Councillors - an ironic reminder of ineffectiveness, dysfunction and aggrandizing self-interest.

Of course the workers will be legislated back to work by Monday morning, Tuesday at the absolute latest. Wouldn't it be sweet justice if Toronto transit was declared an essential service and the ATU loses the right to strike altogether! (Perhaps McGuinty's kids were out Saturday night and counting on the once better way to get home.)

Which leads me to contemplate the following: Many transit workers take the TTC to get home after their shifts. So what happened to the operators once they parked their buses, streetcars and subway trains at the stroke of midnight? Sauce for the gander.

For the record, I am a coerced, unwilling, and robbed member of CUPE local 3097, whose policies I do not endorse, and whose collective agreement with the University of Toronto I do not honour.

1 comment:

Before that brilliant move, they actually had some support. But man, listening to the CBC the next morning, the public was beside themselves angry.

I kept thinking, what if someone had gotten hurt? What if some poor woman stuck on the street having to walk home for three hrs. in the dark (which apparently happened) actually got attacked?....Would they have been able to sue the Union for negligence?

Just bad, disgusting behaviour. And frankly (bc you know I can't not comment on it) terrible PR and marketing strategy.

An scholar/practitioner with a teaching and research focus on complex and emergent organizations, leadership, and culture, via critical qualitative methods, appreciative inquiry, and contemporary insights.